09-20.946N
082-12.686W
Docked
Bocas Yacht Club & Marina
Bocas del Toro
Republic of Panama
Friday, September 29
Isaks (pronounced "ee socks") is twenty, studying "science" at a Bocas del
Toro high school and working at home to share the burden. The burden
is not small. Her parents have twelve other children, from 10 to 40
years old. The oldest is an Evangelical minister who runs revivals.
Family reunions are huge. She and John sat together on the bus
from Almirante to David, while Chichi was across the aisle with a 70-year-old
man rushing to meet his daughter. She was flying to Madrid. Could
be that they will not see each other again.
David is Panama's second largest city and a gateway to Costa Rica by way
of The Pan American highway. The attraction is a near by town, Boquete
("bow kay tay") where an additional 500 to 1000 meters of altitude produces
the most mild and attractive climate in Panama. The flowers of the
town reminded us of Northport, MI., in July. The cleanliness and friendliness
seemed like Crawfordsville, IN. A major crop is coffee beans. The
Kotowo Coffee Plantation produces for specialty shops. After a morning
there concluding with cupping, we never will think of coffee the same way
again, and we never will respect Nescafe, considered to symbolize the least
expensive and lowest class of coffee production. We enjoyed meeting
a German couple on the tour. Our understanding is that they have "found
themselves" through various spiritual and health practices among kindred
spirits in Peru and Costa Rica. They carried a 15-month old red headed
daughter in their arms, and she carries another who is three months along
the assembly line. "We have not told our parents," she said. "They
already worry enough." We sampled the first portion of a mountain trail
up the Baru' Volcano. Three hours was enough. On another morning,
we rested on the grass of Mi Jardin is Su Jardin ("My Garden is Your Garden").
Though small by the standards of American arboretums, we spent three
hours there, and we could have spent more. Where else can you enjoy
visual beauty, powerful and attractive aromas, and the mellowing sound of
running water. Having skipped David on the way in, we elected to stop there
on the way out. Its only attraction, for us, was the cinema, then showing
Vuelo 93, the story of United Airlines Flight 93 that crashed in a Pennsylvania
field on 9-11. Reality intrudes.
Wednesday, September 20
As marina owner Pablo tells the story, juices began to flow in the early
afternoon, Good Friday, last April, when he and The Other realized that all
bars and restaurants were closed. The Other said, "I have a guitar.
Let's have a party."
Pablo called for a marina staff member to return. They set up the
marina's bar and restaurant, and spread the word. People gathered.
The Other came, sat down, and started to play. He played three
hours, by himself, on a bar stool, with maybe 20 cruisers and staff members
looking on. One cruiser captured 60 minutes of music on video tape.
His effort ended when his battery gave out. Still, he got enough
to touch the hearts of John and Chichi because The Other was Jimmy Buffett
in shorts and tee shirt, with charismatic smile and manor, and a welcoming
demeanor that makes audiences comfortable and excited.
We have wanted to hear the same, live and in person, because Jimmy Buffett
is known to be personable, approachable and caring. We saw him on the
tape playing the song he wrote for his daughter. After, she came to
him, kissed him on the cheek, and said, "thanks Dad." We also heard
"Wasting Away . . . " "Volcano Blows," "Son of a Son of a Sailor Man,"
"Mother, Mother Ocean." and others we do not know as well. We wish we
had been there.
Back on his boat, Jimmy Buffett's wife was entertaining Caroline Kennedy,
who, a few days earlier found herself in the rain, on a small fishing boat,
with Pablo, who brought her close and put his foul weather gear around them
both. "Another nice person," says Pablo, who since has seen two Jimmy
Buffett concerts up close and has visited two of Jimmy's homes.
We returned to Pachamama September 15, tired after two days of travel. Friends
Tom and Susan on Limerick, parked next door, greeted us with wonderful smiles
and hugs. Chichi did not want to eat at the marina's restaurant, but
she generously sat while John had a beer only to find herself in a three-hour
animated conversation with Yolanda and Arturo from Colombia. Since then
we have reinstalled the foresails, cleaned, washed, waxed, replaced the car
stereo tuner and the repaired Furuno Weather fax.
We feel great, and we are ready to go. Yesterday, we found the bus
to Bocas del Drago. It goes round and round and round, six times a day,
taking paying passengers and school children from and to various points along
the road. The talkative driver was Pedro. Unfortunately, he forgot to
tell us that the only restaurant at Bocas del Drago is closed on Tuesdays.
We plan to go back.